Washington: The infamous cane toad – feared for its toxicity and rapid proliferation – is rattling Taiwanese environmentalists and officials rushing to contain a sudden surge of the invasive amphibian.
The rotund toads are indigenous to South and Central America. But they’ve become a scourge of countries including Australia and the Philippines, as well as US states such as Florida and Hawaii, where for decades they have encroached on local ecosystems.
Considered good luck in Taiwan.
Their toxicity poses a particular danger to dogs who unknowingly bite or lick the interlopers, as well as to large predators that typically prey on amphibians.
The first reports of wild cane toad sightings in Taiwan surfaced a few weeks ago in Chaotun, a township in central Taiwan, Agence France-Presse reported. Environmentalists and volunteers have since been searching the area to find and trap the warty intruders, also called marine toads.
So far the number found on the island is relatively low: The government-run Endemic Species Research Institute has caught some 200 cane toads in recent weeks, according to AFP.
Still, environmentalists warn that quick action is needed to ward off a full-on outbreak.
The invasive cane toad. Credit:Steven Zozaya / Invasive Animals Cooperative Research Centre
“A speedy and massive search operation is crucial when cane toads are first discovered,” Lin Chun-Fu, an amphibian scientist at the government-run institute, told AFP.
“Their size is very big and they have no natural enemies here in Taiwan.”
In 1935, Australian cane farmers initially imported 102 marine toads to contain beetles attacking their crop. Decades later, the population is up to as many as an estimated 1.5 billion toads on the continent. (Others estimate a lower population of around 200 million.)
Toads are considered good luck in Chinese and Taiwanese culture, a potential complication for some conservationist efforts.
Until 2016, cane toads could be legally imported into Taiwan as personal pets. Since then, conservationists believe local breeders have popped up to meet persisting demand.
The cane toads being sighted in gardens and backyards could have escaped from or been discarded by local breeders, AFP reported.
After news of the outbreak surfaced, farmers told environmentalists working in the area that they had seen the toads even earlier but did not know to report them.
“Taiwanese farmers generally ignore toads and even look favorably at toads when they find them because they help rid the land of pests and are also a good luck symbol,” Yang Yi-Ju, a toad expert at the National Dong Hwa University, told AFP. “It never occurred to them that this is an invasive species from a foreign land.”
Cane toads, in particular males, have been known to latch onto all sorts of objects and other creatures – including, in one memorable instance photographed in Australia, the back of a python – in their frenzy to mate, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reported.
Washington Post
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